SANTA ANA, Calif. – Two criminal street gang members have been charged and are scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow for the shooting murder of an unarmed man while they were spraying graffiti in unincorporated Anaheim. David Steven Ortega, 33, Chino, is charged with one felony count of special circumstances murder and one felony count of attempted murder, with sentencing enhancement allegations for criminal street gang activity, personal discharge of a firearm, and vicarious discharge of a firearm by a gang member. If convicted, Ortega faces a minimum sentence of life in state prison without the possibility of parole. Continue reading→

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man was sentenced today for placing pipe bombs near public places in Anaheim and possessing materials to construct additional pipe bombs. Donald Paul Busteed, 45, Anaheim, pleaded guilty today, April 15, 2016, to a court offer of three felony counts of possession of a destructive device in a public place, one felony count of explosion of a destructive device, and one felony count of intent to unlawfully make a destructive device. Over strong objections on the record by the People and Anaheim Police Department (APD), Busteed was sentenced to three years in jail.

On Nov. 13, 2015, Busteed placed a pipe bomb in Lowe’s Home Improvement parking lot in Anaheim. A shopper in the parking lot saw the device and called 911. Deputies from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) bomb squad responded to the scene and dismantled the device. Continue reading→

ANAHEIM, CA – On April 13, 2016, detectives from the Anaheim Police Department Robbery Detail, with the assistance of investigators from the APD Crime Task Force and FBI’s Orange County Bank Robbery Apprehension Team (BRAT), arrested a suspect who used fake pipe bombs during two Anaheim bank robberies in 2013 and 2016.

The first robbery occurred on July 15, 2013 at the Bank of America in the 1800 block of South Euclid Street. The suspect produced a demand note and displayed an apparent pipe bomb to the teller. The suspect made off with an undisclosed amount of cash and left the device behind in the bank. The device was later determined to be fake. Continue reading→

ANAHEIM, CA – In March 2016, APD Sexual Assault detectives investigated a report of a 13 year old girl who had been sexually assaulted in late 2014 by a then 26 year old male. The incident began when the suspect, Moonjun Kim, began communicating with the victim on the text messaging application “Friends Talk.” Kim ultimately met the victim at a mall in Irvine and drove her to a residence in Orange County where he engaged in sexual intercourse with her. Continue reading→

SANTA ANA, Calif. – Five defendants were arraigned yesterday April 12, 2016, for committing over $635,000 in tax and insurance fraud and failing to pay employees prevailing wage on public works contracts. Babak Brian Abghari, 36, Newport Coast, Homayoun Harry Abghari, 57, Huntington Beach, Julio Roberto Alvarado, 47, San Pedro, Cody Lawson, 34, Long Beach, Phyllis Martinez, 51, Anaheim, are each charged with eight felony counts of taking and receiving a portion of a worker’s wage on a public work, 56 felony counts of recording a false or forged instrument, six felony counts of making a false statement to discourage an injured worker from claiming benefits, and seven felony counts of willful failure to pay taxes, with sentencing enhancement allegations for property loss over $200,000. Babak Aghari and Homayoun Aghari are also charged with three felony counts of misrepresenting facts to a workers’ compensation insurance company. If convicted, the defendants face a maximum sentence of 49 years and six months in state prison. The defendants are scheduled for a pre-trial hearing on May 12, 2016, at 8:30 a.m. in Department C-55, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana. Continue reading→

ANAHEIM, CA – On April 5, 2016, Jonas McClanahan was arrested at his Whittier home during the service of a search warrant related to a burglary which occurred in Anaheim Hills on January 4, 2016. During a search of McClanahan’s home, a significant amount of stolen property was recovered, including tens of thousands of dollars of property stolen during the January 4th burglary.

During the past week, Anaheim detectives, working in collaboration with investigators from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, have been able to locate victims from another six completed residential burglaries in Anaheim Hills, as well as four completed residential burglaries and one attempted residential burglary in Yorba Linda. Stolen property from all of these burglaries was amongst the property recovered during the search of McClanahan’s home. Continue reading→

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – A man was convicted yesterday of pimping and pandering two women in an Anaheim motel. Dorral Lee Hicks Jr., 27, Yuba, pleaded guilty to the court yesterday April 12, 2016, over the objection by the People, to two felony counts of pimping and two felony counts of pandering by procuring. He is expected to be sentenced to three years in state prison at his sentencing June 20, 2016, at 8:30 a.m. in Department H-5, Harbor Justice Center, Newport Beach.

Circumstances of the Case

Hicks is a pimp who exploits women for financial gain. Victims are often required to turn over all payment they receive for sex acts from sex purchasers to their pimp. Continue reading→

*Defendant fled scene after being shot by homeowner and was caught in neighbor’s garage

FULLERTON, Calif. – A felon was convicted and sentenced today for burglarizing two homes and assaulting and robbing a homeowner on Christmas and fleeing the scene after being shot by the homeowner. Jeremy William Bell, 31, Fullerton, pleaded guilty today to a court offer of two felony counts of first degree residential burglary, one felony count of aggravated assault, and one felony count of robbery, with sentencing enhancements for the personal use of a deadly weapon, and a prior prison conviction in 2012 in Riverside County for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Over the People’s objection, Bell was sentenced to three years in state prison.

At approximately 11:30 p.m. on Dec. 24, 2014, Bell broke into an Anaheim home. Bell removed the sliding screen door of a room at the residence but was unable to get inside. The family inside the home noticed an unknown man wearing a ski mask and contacted 911. The defendant subsequently fled the scene. Anaheim Police Department (APD) officers arrived at the residence but were unable to locate the defendant. Continue reading→

ANAHEIM, Calif. (April 12, 2016) Attending an Anaheim Neighborhood Council meeting, held quarterly at locations in the west, east, central and south areas of the city, is an optimal way for residents to meet one-on-one with city staff and to learn local as well as citywide information. Presentations by city staff are followed by opportunities for questions and answers, and residents are offered the platform to collaborate with the city to improve neighborhoods.

The April 2016 meetings will be held at the following at locations. The meetings are open to the public and all are welcome to attend and participate. Continue reading→

ANAHEIM, Calif. (April 11, 2016) – Residents are invited to “Love Anaheim” and join a community service project on Saturday, April 30.

This citywide service event will dispatch volunteers to locations throughout Anaheim to bring neighborhoods, schools and families together through community projects. All activities will take place from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.